Road Podcast

“Where do your tips go”

 BBC LEARNING ENGLISH
6 Minute English Where do your tips
go?

Sam
Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC
Learning English. I’m Sam.

Neil
And I’m Neil.

Sam
In this programme, we’re talking all about
restaurants – specifically about tipping.
That’s giving money to waiting staff for the
service you received.
Neil
Yes, while tipping is discretionary – which
means that someone can decide whether
they want to give money or not – in most
places in the UK it’s an expected practice.

Sam
But have you ever thought where that
money goes or who actually receives it? Do
they have to pay tax on it – or is it just a
gift?

Neil
Some people think that the person who
brought our food is the one who gets the
money, however that isn’t always the case.
Sam
Well, before we find out more about
where our tips go, I have a question about
restaurants. The highest restaurant in the
world, At.mosphere, is in Dubai, in the
building known as the Burj Khalifa – but
how high up is that restaurant? Is it:

a) 442 metres
b) 532 metres
c) 622 metres

Neil
Well, that all sounds really high up, but I’m
going to say c) 622 metres.
Sam
OK, I’ll reveal the answer towards the end
of the show. But now let’s talk more about
what happens to your tips once you have
given them to someone.

Neil
It seems that different restaurants and
businesses have different systems in place
across the country.

Sam
And sadly, that isn’t always to the benefit
of all waiting staff – that’s according to
James James, a waiter, who was speaking
with Peter White on the BBC programme
You and Yours.
James James, waiter
There’s nothing consistent about the
tipping system throughout all the different
companies – they all have their own, and
they’re all unfair in their own equal way. A
tip is not mandatory - I have to earn it as a
reward for the service I provide.
People don’t tip for good food, they
already paid for it on the bill. Recently,
when I’ve been given cash, I’ve been
imposed in more than one company to put
it in a jar and split it – the split hasn’t
exactly been fair to me. My first week at
one job I did £50 in the jar for week – that
was just myself and there’s four other
servers. And at the end of the week, I was
presented with a bag with £2.45 in it.
Sam
So, James James used the word consistent
– which means acting the same way over
time – however he used it negatively when
talking about the tipping systems in most
companies.

Neil
He also used mandatory – which is
something someone must do and is the
opposite of the word discretionary.

Sam
And he also said imposed, which means
forced upon someone.

Neil
So, it seems that James James is not
impressed by some businesses’ tipping
systems. However, for many restaurants
there is a special arrangement with the UK
tax body, the HMRC.

Sam
Yes – it’s called a tronc system – which
sees all of the tips collected in one
separate independent bank account and
stops the payments being charged at the
wrong rate of tax.

Neil
Kate Nicholls, a representative for UK
Hospitality, speaking with Peter White on
the BBC programme You and Yours,
explains more about the intention of a
tronc system.
Kate Nicholls from UK Hospitality
Well increasingly, as we’re moving towards
a cashless society – increased use of credit
card, particularly over the Covid pandemic,
more and more of those tips, gratuities,
service charges are coming through on a
credit card payment, and a tronc is a
special arrangement organised with HMRC
that lets businesses pool tips and service
charges and then fairly distribute them.

Sam
Kate Nicholls mentioned that society is
becoming cashless – which means fewer
people are using paper notes or coins to
pay for things, preferring to use credit
cards.
Neil
She also used the verb pool – a word which
means collect together or group. It’s very
interesting to note that payments which
you give to one person may be distributed
equally across the business, from kitchen
staff to management – depending on a
business’s protocol.

Sam
But that brings me back to today’s
question. I asked you how high up is the
world’s highest restaurant.

Neil
You certainly did and they all sounded
exceptionally high up – I went for option c)
622 metres in the air – the tallest option.
Was I right?
Sam
I’m afraid not – not this time. At.mosphere
is actually 442 metres in the air, so not
quite as high as you thought.

Neil
Well, it still sounds pretty high to me! Now
it’s time to recap some of the vocabulary
we’ve mentioned today. First off, we had
discretionary, which is something that is a
choice for the person doing it and is not an
obligation.

Sam
Consistent describes something that acts
or behaves in the same way over and over
again.
Neil
Then we had mandatory – which describes
something a person must do.

Sam
If something is imposed on you, it is forced
on you.

Neil
Cashless refers to card or digital payments,
rather than notes and coins – while pool is
a verb and means group together all in one
place.

Sam
Well, that certainly is food for thought next
time you dine out. That brings us to end of
this week’s 6 Minute English – but
remember that there’s a range of other
topics that you can find on our website
bbclearningenglish.com or you can also
catch them on social media or our free
app.

Neil
That’s right. All you need to do to
download the app is type in BBC Learning
English on the Play Store or App store
depending on what type of phone you
have. There’s lots of things on there to
check out, and as Sam says, it’s completely
free!

Sam
Thanks for listening and goodbye.

Neil
Goodbye.
 VOCABULARY
discretionary
choice or option to do something; non-
obligatory

consistent
acting the same way over time

mandatory
describes something you must do

imposed forced on someone

cashless not using cash or coins

pool
collect, group together

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